The present invention relates to a body for use with compressor motor terminals, and more particularly, to an arrangement which uses wedging for effectively and securely retrofitting an electrical lead on a deteriorated compressor terminal.
A conventional hermetically sealed electric motor 10 used for air conditioning compressors and the like typically has three identical terminals 11, 12, 13 arranged in a triangular pattern as seen in FIG. 1a and substantially encapsulated in an electrically insulating plug. These types of terminals protrude about 3/8" from the insulating plug and typically consist of a 1/4"x1/32" spade welded or brazed to a 1/8" diameter cylindrical pin that passes through the insulating plug. The specific configuration of a known individual terminal, e.g. terminal 11, is shown in FIG. 1b and includes the terminal body and the welded-on spade 15.
Electrical power is typically supplied to the compressor motor 10 by lead wires with female connections attached to the end that fit over the above-described male-type spade terminals 11, 12, 13. This connection often has poor mechanical contact (thus also poor electrical contact) and causes the terminal to deteriorate through arcing and the like. Part or all of the spade-type connector or terminal (FIG. 1b) may be deteriorated to a point where the original female connector can no longer serve its intended purpose. A new adapter is needed that can easily replace the old connection and can be attached to a partially deteriorated terminal without removing the deteriorated terminal because removal of the terminal can damage the hermetic seal due to the fragility of the insulator plug.
Conventional approaches for allowing an electrical lead to be connected to a deteriorated terminal have a number of disadvantages. For example, they do not work well in confined spaces or else require the use of special tooling.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,502, for example, describes an adapter designed to enable an electrical connection to damaged or deteriorated male connectors on a compressor assembly. In particular, a set screw is provided at the bottom of a tube so as to engage the damaged rod or cylindrical pin of the terminal. One problem with this approach is that the set screw connection can be loosened due to vibrations and the like and/or the thread can become stripped because the walls of the tube must be made thin due to terminal spacing restraints and can contain only a few threads. That is, a high drive torque is created by the set screw connection which causes failure of the few threads which are too few and too fine to withstand the torque.
An object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement which is simple in construction and permits a secure connection to a compressor terminal.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a connector which can be used in confined spaces and with standard tooling.
A yet further object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement which allows manipulation to attach the lead by access to the front face of the connector rather than the side which has more obstructions present so as to limit convenient accessibility.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a connector which achieves improved electrical contact with the terminal and thereby reduces electrical resistance.
Yet a further object of the present invention is to employ an adapter which can be constructed from readily available, inexpensive conductive and non-conductive materials.
A still additional object of the present invention is to allow a connector to be securely connected with the terminal without the need to remove any portion of the deteriorated terminal.
This object has been achieved in accordance with the present invention by providing a connector body which utilizes a wedging force or action to securely fasten an electrical lead to a deteriorated compressor terminal.